L P Louwe Kooijmans
An Early/Middle Bronze Age multiple burial
at Wassenaar, the Netherlands
1 The location, geology
2 The excavation
The excavation methods
Recordmg
The hftmg of the grave and its conservation
3 The giave, descnption and analysis
The grave pit
Preservation
Composition of the group
Order of deposition
Disarticulations and missmg parts
Bunal postures
"Grave goods"
Cause of death
Datmg
4 The context
Bronze Age occupation of the coastal region
The grave in relation to Dutch Bionze Age burial
traditions
Ethnoarchaeology
5 Conclusion
What happened at Wassenaai ?
A more violent Dutch Middle Bionze Age
Sediments are covered with dune sands, m which, especially
on the formerly dry barner ndges, senes of low dunes have
been formed, which are known äs the Older Dunes These
dune rows are separated from one another by wide, lower
zones, representmg former beach flats This landscape was
formed in the Early Subboreal, when considerable coastal
aggradation took place and the coasthne prograded seaward
by several hundreds of metres each Century (Jelgersma et al
1970) The coastal district stood out äs a wide, dry region
between the North Sea in the west and the extensive
mtracoastal marshes and swamps of the Rhine/Meuse delta
plain to the east As such it will have been an attractive
region for prehistonc settlement (fig 2)
Tiaces of prehistonc occupation — settlement sites and
isolated artefacts — aie usually found on the dune rows, but
the Wassenaar site suiprisingly proved to be situated on a
low, very small dune of only some 25 m across, lymg m the
middle of a beach flat along with some other similar small
In Apnl 1987 amatew ai thaeologists of the Wassenaai
Histoncal Society found a Leite NeolithicIEaily Bionze Age
settlement site when they weie piospettmg tienches
lecently dug m a development plan m theu village
The excavatwn of this settlement site by the Instnute of
Piehntoiy of Leiden Umveisity led to the discoveiy of a
umque multiple bwial of a shghtly latei date, ι e fiom the
tiansition fiom the Eatly to the Middle Bionze Age This g/ave
piovided mdicatwns of a violent conflict of a scale hitheito
totally unexpected m Dutch Bi ome Age society On fui thei
consideiatwn, howevei, such confltcts most piobably
ι epi esented a sti uctw al aspect of the hfe of that society
l·
The location, geology
Wassenaar is situated in the coastal distnct
Netherlands, just north of The Hague (fig 1)
consists of beach or bamei deposits in which
ndges have been formed parallel to the coast
of the
Its subsoil
long bainei
The
Figure 1 Looation of the site m the Wetenngpark extension of
Wassenaar
ANALECTA PRAEHISTORICA LEIDENSIA 26
Figure 2. Geology of the coastal
zone near Leiden, with the
Subboreal coastal barrier System,
covered by Older Dunes, and the
location of the Wassenaar burial (1)
and the Voorhout palstave hoard (2).
Geology after Jelgersma et al.
1970.
dunes. The site lay in the northern pari of the dune section
between the estuaries of the Meuse and Rhine and close to
the estuary of the Rhine and its tidal creek Systems (figs 3, 4).
The excavation1
The excavation of the site by the Institute of Prehistory
of Leiden University showed that all that remained of the
settlement was a handful of flint fragments and pottery
sherds, some of which had belonged to Early Barbed Wire
Beakers, which are diagnostic for the very beginning of the
Bronze Age, c. 3600 BP (figs 5, 6).
2.
The only reason why these data merit mention in this
Journal, in spite of their great interest for the history of
local and regional prehistoric occupation, is that they
represent the context of the totally unexpected discovery,
during the final cleaning of one of the sections, of the
multiple burial of twelve individuals. Although the grave
lay in the area of the development plan and its excavation
implied delays in the building schedule, the excavators were
able to successfully clean, record and lift the skeletal parts
thanks to the cooperation of the contractor and the local
authorities.
L.P LOUWE KOOIJMANS - MULTIPLE BURIAL AT WASSENAAR
2.2
RECORDING
Drawings of each individual skeleton were made on a
glass pane, scale l: l (fig. 8). These were redrawn on
transparent sheets and subsequently mounted. The complete
skeletons and details of each of the skeletons were photographed, äs well äs of some additional details. The field
drawing was later adjusted on the basis of the field
photographs and drawings made of scale photographs of the
cleaned and preserved blocks. Anatomy-book drawings were
used äs reference matenal to overcome the difficulties of
deformation and bad conservation. The drawings and
anthropological descriptions finally obtained provided a good
basis for observations on the complex process of deposition.
Figure 3. Location of the small dune in the beach flat between the
northern ends of two main coastal barners, close to the Rhine
estuary Detail of fig. 3. After Van de Plassche 1982.
2. l
THE EXCAVATION METHODS
The excavation procedure had to be adapted to the bad
state of preservation of the bone remains. It was decided to
do äs much of the cleaning and recording äs possible in the
field and to have a Professional anthropologist make all the
basic anthropological observations in the field so äs to
restrict the laboratory work to corrections and additional
observations.
The grave was covered with a plastic tent äs a safeguard
against the rainy and stormy weather. The cleaning was
done with wooden spatulas and soft brushes and the bone
was kept wet with the aid of a plant spray and plastic
sheets. The diggers worked from scaffolding, mostly lying
on their bellies (fig. 7).
2.3
THE LIFTING OF THE GRAVE AND rrs CONSERVATION
The skeletons were lifted in blocks of approx. 40 x 50 cm,
which was an appropriate size for individual legs, trunks
and pelvises. Use was made of thin sheets of gutter tin,
supported by pieces of stiff chipboard. These were first
used äs gliders in pressing the sheets of tin beneath the
skeletal parts, which had to be done in a perfect plane to
avoid the risk of the blocks cracking later. The sheets of tin,
now with the sand blocks on them, were then pulled back
onto the stiff chipboard and lifted (fig. 9). All the blocks
(about 40 in total) and the separately lifted long bones
could be preserved thanks to the financial support of the
municipality of Wassenaar and the province of South
Holland. The reconstructed grave formed the centre of a
small exhibition in Wassenaar from December 1989 until
February 1990 and has been on view in the National
Museum of Antiquities in Leiden since the autumn of 1990.
3.
The grave, description and analysis
3.1
THE GRAVE PIT
The twelve individuals had been buried in a quadrangular
pit of a rather irregulär shape with sides of approx. 210 and
230 cm. The sides were oriented roughly NNW-SSE and
WSW-ENE. The bodies were all positioned parallel to the
latter direclion, five with their heads in the east, seven with
2m -MAP
l Dumkerke 0
l Wmdblown sand
Figure 4. N-S cross-section of the small dune, after L van der Valk
Peat
ANALECTA PRAEHISTORICA LEIDENSIA 26
Figure 5 Wassenaar-Wetenngpark Domestic Barbed Wire Beaker pottery, Early Bronze Age. Scale 1 '2
their heads m the west (figs 10, 11, 12, 13). The fill of the
pit hardly differed from the surrounding dune sand, which
is understandable when we consider the Situation at the time
of burial: the area was then covered with a young soil only,
which means that the fill of the pit differed from the
surrounding sand m terms of structure only and not in terms
of texture or humic content.
What did make the burial pit stand out from the
surrounding soil were the effects of percolation that had led
to the formation of several bands of humic precipitation
around the pit. They indicated the shape and maximum
extent of the pit. The bottom of the pit (i e the level of the
lower parts of the skeletons) will have been almost flat; it
was situated at approx. -1.00 m NAP (NAP = Dutch ÖD).
It was difficult to make out the walls of the pit, but the pit
appeared to be rather steep in the section. The deplh could
no longer be estabhshed äs the original surface had been
eroded. The remaimng depth was approx. 40 cm, but it
must be assumed that the pit was much deeper originally.
The grave lay to the NW of the small dune, more or less
next to the concentration of beaker finds. The surface that
contained the sherds had been eroded by the wind, which is
why no direct spatial or stratigraphical relation could be
established between the settlement and the grave. There
proved to be a chronological difference of several centunes
between the two finds; their co-occurrence must be
attributable to the relatively prominent character of the
small isolated dune m the surrounding landscape.
L P. LOUWE KOOIJMANS - MULTIPLE BURIAL AT WASSENAAR
Figure 6. Wassenaar-Wetenngpark.
The extent of the small dune,
excavation trenches and features.
sand dune
(sub) recently disturbed
clay covered
dune slope
ma]or occurrence
Bell Beaker domestic finds
3.2
PRESERVATION
It is quite surprising that bone remains had been
preserved in this matrix, at this location and at this depth.
The dune sand is decalcified and the sand admits oxygenrich water currents. The level of the floor of the burial pit
(-1.00 m) is well above the former MSL of approx. -2.20 m
(Van de Plassche 1982, 86). Since we cannot assume a
local rise of groundwater in a small dune, situated on a
beach flat close to an estuary, the bodies must have been
buried well above the groundwater table (fig. 14). The rise
in sea level will not have caused the local groundwater to
reach the level of the bones until the (Late) Iron Age. Since
then until the age of modern drainage the bones were
submerged, the water stopping the process of decay.
However, the skeletons were in a bad to very bad state of
preservation and of some (No. 6) no more than a Silhouette
or soil discolouration remained. As the skeletons that had
outline of dune
5m
suffered most lay next to a subrecent ditch dug at a distance
of only one metre from the southwestern corner of the
grave, this must be the consequence of drainage in
historical times.
3.3
COMPOSITION OF THE GROUP
Thanks to the observations made in the field and the
careful preparation of the lifted skeletal parts we have
at least some basic anthropological Information on the
group.
The group was composed of twelve individuals,
numbered l to 12. The age and sex of almost all the
skeletons could be determined, in spite of the poor state of
preservation (fig 15).
For details on these data and all additional observations,
such äs pathology and signs of violence, the reader is
referred to the article by Maat and Smits (this volume).
ANALECTA PRAEHISTORICA LEIDENSIA 26
Figure 7 Wassenaar Wetenngpark
Workmg conditions
$,·»
Figure 8 Wassenaar Wetenngpark
Makmg the füll scale field drawmg
on glass
34
ORDER OF DCPOSITION
The order in which the bodies had been deposited could
be mferred from overlappmg hmbs, they proved to have
been deposited from the north to the south, in an almost
regulär alternation of bodies on the two (west and east)
sides of the bunal pit The assumption that Nos 3 and 9
were deposited first, after which the others were deposited
from the centre to the north and the south leads to
unsolvable problems m the norlhern part
Some inconsistencies were observed the left aim of
No l was found restmg on the nght arm of No 2, the
nght arm of No 10 on the left leg of No 2 These
inconsistencies can be explamed by assuming that the two
corpses were buned at exactly the same time or, even
bettei, by assuming that some hmbs especially arm&, were
reananged dunng the bunal procedure We must conclude,
moieover, that no ngoi moiln had äs yet occurred The
relalion between Nos 3 and 4 was remaikable the left arm
L P LOUWE KOOIJMANS
MULTIPLE BURIAL AT WASSENAAR
Figure 9 Wassenaar Wetenngpark
The liftmg of the skeletal parts m
blocks
Figure 10 Wassenaar Wetenngpark The bunal shortly after discovery showing the N S section
of No 3 was lestmg on the body of No 4 but the geneial
anangement, that is the fit of the bodies makes it
most plausible that No 3 was deposited fn st In othei
words the arm must have been leaiianged Howevei the
skull of No 4 lay on top of the bent left aim of No 3 out
of articulation with the body and it is most unhkely that
this is due to post depositional distuibance Appaiently
No 3 and No 4 - whose head had been sepaiated hom
the tmnk - weie deposited togethei äs a couple äs
follows
- body of No 3
- body of No 4
- leanangement of left aim of No 3
- head of No 4
ANALECTA PRAEHISTORICA LEIDENSIA 26
S
MAP -,
-05m -10m-
Figure 11. WassenaarWeteringpark. N-S section.
IXN Arable
ΠΤΤΠ Duinkerke l clay
Humic pit fill
l
l
Skeletons
l Windblown sand
The three instances of coupled burials of two bodies on
the same side of the burial pit have some characteristics in
common. In all cases one of the deceased was (very) young,
whereas the other was not one of the young adult males.
3.5
DlSARTICULATIONS AND MISSING PARTS
Most skeletons were well-articulated; disarticulations
could be easily explained by post-depositional displacements, either äs a natural consequence of the decay process
of the bodies or due to bioturbation. The displacement of
lower jaws and patellae and the disarrangement of hand
and foot bones were to be expected in the loose sandy fill.
The disturbance of the trunks of Nos 6, 7 and 8 may be
attributable to burrowing animals or uprooted trees and the
same may hold for the displacement of the right limbs of
No. l and the right knee of No. 8. Some observations,
however, cannot be explained in this way, in particular
the position of the skull of No. 4, commented on above.
The only possible explanation in this case is disarticulated
deposition, implying either pre- or post-mortal decapitation.
However, only the cranium was out of place. The mandibula was in a normal position relative to the cervical
vertebrae. Something similar may hold for No. 8, but this
could not be verified due to the poor state of preservation
and the overall disturbance of this part of the grave.
In all cases the absence of particular skeletal parts was
attributable to poor preservation conditions, postdepositional disturbance or the speed with which the
remains had to be recovered.
3.6
BURIAL POSTURES
At first sight, the burial postures appeared to reflect a
rather careless and hasty form of deposition, but closer
inspection revealed a certain regularity, possibly the result
of distinct sex- and age-bound burial rules (fig. 16).
The only body in the grave which could be anthropobiologically identified äs that of a woman (No. 11) was one of
the only two (11 and 6) which had been buried face
downwards. The two juveniles and the younger adolescent
l Stratified dune sand
5m
Table 1. Wassenaar-Weteringpark, sex and age of the 12 individuals
according to Smits and Maat, this volume, left in order of number,
right in order of age estimation.
number sex
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
male
male
male
age (year) number sex
20-30
30-40
30-40
infans I
male
3-3±
(female)
>19
15-16
± 10
>22
19-21
± 18
If2
adolescent
adolescent
male
male
female
infans I
12
4
8
7
11
10
6
9
1
2
3
5
30-40
age (year)
li-2
infans I
infans I
3-3^
adolescent ± 10
adolescent 15-16
female
± 18
19-21
>19
>22
male
(female)
male
male
male
20-30
30-40
30-40
30-40
male
male
Table 2. Wassenaar-Weteringpark, sequence of deposition of the
12 bodies
sequence
west
east
12
11
10
5
6
7
7
8
9
10
9
8
3
4
7
5
6
(Nos 4, 8 and 12) lay on their sides (two on their left sides,
one on the right side) in a gently flexed posture. All the
others had been buried on their backs, with varying arm
and leg postures, and in these cases, too, some regularities
can be observed. The tall, 15-year-old adolescent (No. 7)
L P LOUWE KOOIJMANS - MULTIPLE BURIAL AT WASSENAAR
Figure 12 Wassenaar Wetenngpark Oblique view from the North
was the only one with ciossed lowei legs Four bodies
(Nos l, 2, 5 and 10) had one leg stretched and one bent,
the foot placed agamst the tibia of the stretched leg They
were all young adult 01 adult males (c 20 40 years of age)
The legs of t wo bodies were both stietched (Nos 3 and 9)
Both weie male adults one was the oldest individual
(30 40 years old) m the grave the other had been so poorly
preseived that his age could no longer be accuiately
determmed, but he had been at least 22 years old No age
or sex related rules could be inferred from the vaiying arm
postures
The overall arrangement of the bodies also reflected a
ceitain regulanty central are the two stretched adult males,
accompamed by juvemles with (young) adults on either
side and the women with the very young children at the
edges In view of the apphed burial rules and the
symmetncal anangement of the bodies in the grave we may
assume that No 6 was a female hke No 11 and that No 9
was a relatively old adult
The regulanties descnbed above could be interpreted äs
purely accidental indeed, the evidence is too meagre to
have any statistical significance We may, however, safely
assume that the bodies were not thrown mto the grave
but were arranged m a regulär way m a burial procedure
which provided sufftcient opportunity for the observance of
distmct sex- and age related burial rules
37
GRAVE GOODS
Very few artefacts were found m the burial pit and
none of these may be considered grave goods
A flmt arrowhead found between the ribs of No 10
repiesented important dating evidence and was also an
indication of violence (fig 17)
Durmg post-excavational preservation two scraper hke
flmts were found under the lumbar vertebrae of No 3
Microweai analysis by A L van Gijn showed that one of
these (No 514) had certamly been used äs a scraper,
possibly on skm äs suggested by the gloss pattem They
may have ended up under the body accidentally but it is
moie likely that they were the personal possessions of the
deceased if so, they may indicate that the bodies were
buned in their normal clothes
Patches of charcoal the remams of burnt pieces of wood
were observed in several places especially next to Nos l 9
and 12 Very few sherds were found in the pit fill, they
were all very small (less than l cm2)
10
ANALECTA PRAEHISTORICA LEIDENSIA 26
Figure 13 Wassenaar Wetenngpark Oblique view from the East Note the extremely bad conservation of individual 6 (left) close to the
subrecent ditch fill Note also the disarticulated skull off md 4 (foreground)
38
CAUSE OF DEATH
Very important and most inteiestmg is the aforemen
tioned small fhnt arrowhead that was found between the
nbs of No 10 Its position suggested that U had been
shot mto the body Van Gijn observed impact fractures
dt the tip of the arrowhead but otherwise it had a fresh
appearance and showed no traces of shaftmg (fig 18)
It is of course impossible to say when the impact fractures
were foimed, they may have been the result of earher
use Nevertheless, we have interpreted this arrowhead äs
sound proof of a violent cause of death in the case of
No 10
Smce Information on the cause of death is important foi a
social Interpretation of this giave, careful attention was paid
to possible marks of violence on the skeletal parts, which
was not easy considenng their poor state of preservation
A cntical inspection revealed three blow marks, all without
traces of healmg, on the lower jaw of No 2, on the nght
humei us of No 3 and on the skull of No 5 These marks
weie certamly not caused m modein cleaning, postdepositional causes were moreovei very unhkely accordmg
to the physical anthropologists An important question m
this respect is how many traces of mortal violence aie to
be expected on skeletal remains, especially if they have
been poorly preseived and are seveiely defoimcd, äs in
this case A foui th indication of violence was the fact that
the skull of the infans No 4 had apparently been separated
from the body at the moment of deposition This disaiticulation can hardly be attnbuted to post-depositional
factors
In view of all these observations, a violent conflict is the
most hkely cause of death Othei casualties, such äs an
epidemic disease, famine, floodmg or shipwreckmg, are less
plausible causes
39
DATING
The lack of grave goods meant that the remains had to be
dated via typological companson of the specific shape of
the arrowhead found with individual No 10 and via C14
analysis The airowhead did not resemble any of the fairly
large number of airowheads found m Bell Bedker graves m
the Netherlands (Lantmg/Van dei Waals 1976) Barbed
Wue Beaker graves have yielded hardly any grave goods
and no anowheads whatsoevei (Lantmg 1973) However, a
11
L.P. LOUWE KOOIJMANS - MULTIPLE BURIAL AT WASSENAAR
"feiSei^fi^'^sSi^SsJ^lffi^S
Figure 14. Wassenaar-Weteringpark. Vertical view. Note the humic Infiltration bands around the grave.
fairly characteristic, rather sophisticated type of arrowhead
with recurved barbs has been found in domestic
assemblages. Close parallele have been found in an early
Hilversum Culture pit fill at Vogelenzang near Haarlem
(fig. 19), which are to be dated around 3400 BP
(Groenman-van Waateringe 1961a). This date corresponds
perfectly to two radiocarbon dates obtained from charcoal
directly associated with the present burial:
Charcoal near pelvis of No. 9 GrN-14.949
Charcoal from post (?) near No. 11
GrN-14.950
3420 + 80 BP
3380 + 80 BP
These results yield a calibrated date of around 1700 cal. BC.
One of these samples was obtained from a number of
concentrations of charcoal which were interpreted äs the
burnt edges of posts or beams that had disappeared
altogether. The other sample was taken from the burnt
remains of the end of a heavy upright post close to the head
of individual No. 11, which may have marked the end of
the grave. The relatively large Standard deviation is
attributable to the low carbon content of the samples.
This evidence soundly dates the grave to c. 3400 BP,
1700 cal. BC, around the transition from the Early to the
Middle Bronze Age, which means that there is no direct
connection between the grave and the settlement remains
which first attracted attention to the site.
12
4.
4 l
ANALECTA PRAEHISTORICA LEIDENSIA 26
Context
BRONZE AGE OCCUPATION OF THE COASTAL
REGION
How does the grave fit mto the context of regional
Bronze Age archaeology'-'
The Older Dune landscape developed and extended
seawards dunng the Late Neolithic and the Bronze Age
As the coastlme prograded, older dune rows gradually
shifted further mland At the same time the effect of the salt
sea spray decreased and, äs a result, the Vegetation of the
dunes changed from a halophytic Vegetation, via typical
dune brushwoods, mto a deciduous forest, while the beach
flats became rieh natural meadowlands This landscape will
have been attractive for prehistonc settlement from its
formation onwards However, äs a result of the subsequent
nse in sea level, the beach flats were gradually submerged
and changed mto swamps and alder carrs The region will
have lost much of its former appeal when peat started to
grow there, but where the dunes bordered zones of estuanne
Sedimentation, ι e next to mlets and estuanes, high-water
deposits compensated for the nse in the groundwater level,
these deposits will have been covered with meadowland for
a long time The estuanes themselves moreover added to
the diversity — and hence the attractiveness — of these
zones
We have, however, nothing more than the odd site and
a few rare finds to confirm the presumed contmuous
prehistonc use of the coastal dune landscape This
landscape — and the archaeological evidence buned m it —
has to a large extent been destroyed by intensive land use
in historical and modern times the effects of the cultivation
of bulbs, sand quarrymg, road construction and building
have been disastrous for prehistonc remams m this region
Many remams were destroyed before the days of active
archaeological research Smce the end of the last Century,
however, some finds have been recovered in this area and
over the past decades detailed observations have been made
m archaeological surveys and excavations Most mstructive
in this respect were the large-scale geological and
archaeological observations made dunng the execution of
the development project in the Velserbroekpolder m
Haarlem, m which extensive sites of many hectares
contaimng plough marks and house plans came to light
(Bosman/Soomus 1990) These remams mdicated the
intensive use of at least those parts of the dune margins that
were bordered by natural pastures on foimer salt marshes
and suggested intensive land use on a larger scale m this
penod, especially m zones of ecological diversity
Other Bronze Age settlement sites have smce then been
found at Velsen-Noordzeekanaal, Vogelenzang (Groenmanvan Waatennge 1961a), Lisse, The Hague and Monster
(Van Heermgen 1983, Louwe Kooijmans 1974, App I), all
of which weie discovered dunng sand-diggmg operations,
but no remams of Bronze Age sites have so fai come to
light m the direct suiroundmgs of the Wassenaai grave
A Bell Beaker site has been found at less than l km to the
east, but the closest domestic Middle Bronze Age lemams
were found 7 km to the southwest (Van Heenngen 1983,
site 3) The well-known Middle Bionze Age hoaid of
Voorhout was discovered 8 km to the noitheast of the
grave, on the other side of the Rhme estuary It is hkely
that the occupation sites were on the rows of dunes
bordermg the beach flat close by (Van Heenngen 1983)
Due to the extensive destruction of the archaeological
remams, the pooi state of pieservation of the scarce finds
and the fragmentary nature of our evidence it is veiy
difficult to make specific Statements on Bronze Age
settlement densities and the intensity of land use, but we
have the Impression — and it cannot be more than that' —
that the land was mtensively used from the times of the
Late Neolithic Vlaardmgen Group onwaids
The evidence of Haarlem-Velserbi oekpolder suggests that
the very similar microregion in which the Wassenaar giave
was situated was equally atti active and was hence populated
by a similar number of people m Bronze Age times
The sea had letreated from this area several centunes before
then and the beach flat must have been covered with wet
natural meadowlands, the dunes on both sides havmg been
wooded The grave, however, had not been dug m or near a
settlement site, but m what was apparently a field far away
from the settlement itself, which must have been situated
somewhere on the mam dune ridges
4 2
THE GRAVE IN RELATION το DUTCH BRONZE AGE
BURIAL TRADITIONS
Although the Wassenaar grave is clearly a special case,
we must ask ourselves what Bronze Age bunal tiaditions
it reflects and to what extent We must also consider its
umqueness and its position m our Interpretation of the
Dutch Bronze Age
Early Bronze Age burial piactice may be considered
an archaeologically poorer contmuation of the Beaker
tradition the deceased were still buried under barrows,
but without the ring ditches contaimng closely set posts
(Lantmg 1973, Louwe Kooijmans 1974, 308, 318), the
orientation of the grave was usually north-south instead of
predommantly east-west, äs it had been in the previous
period The burial posture changed fiom crouched to more
gently flexed, the earhest instance of a stretched bunal on
the back, which was to become customary in the Middle
Bronze Age, has been dated to 3660 ± 35 BP (St -Walrick,
Groenman-van Waatennge 196Ib, Louwe Kooijmans 1974,
308) Grave goods are almost completely absent m Early
Bronze Age graves
13
L.P LOUWE KOOIJMANS - MULTIPLE BURIAL AT WASSENAAR
Figure 15. Wassenaar-Wetenngpark Plan of the multiple bunal, with age and sexe of the mdividuals
Halfway through the Early Bronze Age the practice
of cremation and the burial of the remains m Hilversum
urns under barrows surrounded by ditches and banks was
introduced in the southern part of the Netherlands
(especially North Brabant). This clearly indicates close
connections with the urn burial traditions of south England
(esp. the Wessex biconical urns). The development is now
generally interpreted äs an evolution, based on regulär
and intensive contacts, continuing those of Beaker times,
and no longer äs an indication of the arrival of British
immigrants.
The practice of cremation was introduced in the northern
part of the Netherlands (Drenthe) at the beginning of the
Middle Bronze Age. It remained the common form of burial
14
ANALECTA PRAEHISTORICA LEIDENSIA 26
Ο
Ο
Ο
©
331/2
ω
15 16
©
1 1/2 2
C 10
Figure 16 Wassenaar Wetermgpark Bunal postures
throughout the first half of that penod (MBA-A) and was
replaced by mhumation of fully stretched corpses
(preserved äs silhouettes) m proper coffms m the second
half of the Middle Bronze Age (MBA-B) The silhouettes
provide very httle Information on body postures No child
postures or face down postures have been identified There
where the silhouettes of legs could be made out both legs
were stretched, no silhouettes with one bent leg have so far
been identified (Lohof 1991) No multiple buuals have been
found, but we do know of some cases of closely grouped
mdividual graves m a communal mortuary house, äs at
Zeijen, barrow 75 (Glasbergen 1954, part 2, 144) These
were, however, mdividual graves and although they had
been dug withm a time ränge of a couple of years, most
were probably NOT contemporary This northem Dutch
group represents the westernmost mamfestation of a
tradition that was common all over the Noith German Plam
and the southern part of Scandmavia
In the late part of the Early Bronze Age and the Middle
Bronze Age there was therefore a marked difference in
bunal practices between the northern and southern parts of
the Netherlands There were, however, also similanties
between the two areas in both areas barrows weie erected
on heavily podzohzed soils usmg sods cut from those soils,
m both areas these barrows were surrounded by circles
of postholes durmg the Middle Bronze Age and were used
for later secondary bunals, although different local bunal
practices were used what have been called "tangential
mhumations" have been found m the norm and cremationand-urn bunals in the south Moieover, stretched mhumation
was occasionally practised m the south while cremation
started to be mtroduced m the north As the number of
barrows found is rather small it is possible that only a part
of the local population was buned under such structures
Due to the lack of evidence the relation between the
bunal customs of the coastal distnct of the western
Netherlands and the aforementioned two traditions is not
clear Sherds of Hilversum pots mdicate connections with
domestic sites m the southern part of the Netherlands The
lack of evidence on bunal practices, in particular barrows,
is first of all attnbutable to historical and (sub)recent
landscape transformations and, secondly, to the formation
of the Younger Dunes over parts of the Bronze Age
occupation areas near the sea The chance discovery of a
group of at least three (probably more) Early/Middle
Bronze Age barrows at Velsen Hofgeesterweg, a few
kilometres to the north of Haarlem, has provided at least
some mdications of coastal burial traditions The barrows,
which had been completely covered by drift sand, came to
hght durmg the digging of a trench for a pipelme m 1978
(Woltering 1979) One barrow (A) contamed what was
thought to have been a primary east-west burial of a
crouched skeleton and si\ secondary mhumations, five of
which at least were stretched The bodies were onented
NW SE and NE-SW The barrow was surrounded by a ring
ditch and a circle of postholes Another barrow (C), which
15
L P LOUWE KOOIJMANS - MULTIPLE BURIAL AT WASSENAAR
Figure 17. WassenaarWetermgpark Flint arrow head m
situ between the nbs of ind. 10.
was surrounded by three ring ditches and five circles of
postholes, contained four stratigraphically separated
concentrations of cremation remains at the centre. Barrow B
was surrounded by a double circle of postholes and a square
ditch and contained cremation remains at the centre. Two
kilometres to the south of this group, at Velserbroek, an
exceptional grave was found on a small dune (Bosman/
Soonius 1990). It was oriented east-west and contained
inhumation remains accompanied by two golden
Noppenringe and a Scandinavian palstave. The stretched
skeleton, which lay at a depth of -0.85 m NAP, had
decayed almost completely. The deceased had been placed
on a small platform inside a larger (90 χ 280 cm) burial pit.
No other graves of this type are known. This evidence
suggests a rather wide diversity of burial customs,
combining both northern and southern elements.
A similar picture, but based on a much larger collection
of data from some 200 interments, has been obtained for
the Middle Bronze Age occupation of Westfrisia (West
Fnesland), a region with close connections with the coastal
dunes in Bronze Age times. The dunes will have been the
first to have been occupied and long-distance contacts will
have been maintained via these areas. In the groups of
barrows, the cemetery of flat graves, the settlement burial
and the human remains mixed with domestic refuse
stretched inhumations dominated, but crouched burial in
vanous postures and cremation were also practised.
Interesting with respect to the adult-juvemle association in
the Wassenaar grave is the case of the partial cremation of
an adult female IN a bunal pit and the subsequent burial of
a 7-year-old juvenile, on its side m a crouched posture, m
the same pit at Hoogkarspel (barrow 2; Bakker/Brandt
1966, 190; Brandt 1980, 59). The barrows were surrounded
by varymg structures, mainly ring ditches, but also square
ditches, circles of pits and circles of post holes, although
the latter were rarer, good timber being scarce in that area.
A synthesis of this rieh material is still lackmg and is badly
needed (Bakker 1974; Brandt 1980; Brandt/IJzereef 1980).
Grave goods were rare all over the Netherlands m the
Middle Bronze Age; the few that have been found consist
mainly of small rings and an odd pin. Heavy implements
hke axes and swords are very rare, even though hundreds of
barrows have been excavated. Remarkable exceptions are
the rieh Sögel grave of Drouwen and the Middle Bronze
Age grave of Sleen (Butler 1969, 107 f.). Two graves in the
western Netherlands are conspicuous for similar reasons:
the Velserbroek grave mentioned above and one of the flat
graves at Zwaagdijk, Westfrisia, in which an adult male
was accompanied by an originally approximately 55-cmlong sword with a six-riveted hilt which is probably of
Atlantic (Breton?) origin (Butler 1964; Modderman 1964).
These graves reflect a martial aspect of Middle Bronze Age
society that is of interest in the context of the Wassenaar
grave.
In comparison with those of the northern and southern
traditions, the burial customs of the coastal district — if we
may indeed regard it äs a separate unit — vary considerably
in terms of the handling of the deceased, the posture of the
bodies, their orientation, the type of burial monument and
the surrounding structures. We may Interpret this
16
ANALECTA PRAEHISTORICA LEIDENSIA 26
differentiation, at least partly, äs a reflection of the varying
social qualities of the deceased and hence äs an indication of
a socially differentiated society. But that is about all that can
be said about this differentiation. The lack of grave goods
and our ignorance of the correlation between archaeological
and social variables precludes further conclusions.
The evidence of the Wassenaar grave fits in with Bronze
Age burial traditions äs far äs the extended postures and
the custom of inhumation are concerned, although the two
were not to become common until a few centuries later. We
know of only one other case of a child buried in the same
posture äs that of Wassenaar whereas skeletons with one
bent leg have been found in no other graves whatsoever.
The absence of cremation remains in a grave dating from
phase MBA-A is very conspicuous. All in all this makes the
Wassenaar grave a special case. Another unique feature of
this burial is the peculiar way in which the individual
bodies had been placed in the grave: the twelve deceased
had not been simply buried together according to a general
burial practice, but had been carefully deposited according
to a special set of rules (specially designed for this
occasion?). Ethno-archaeological observations may throw
some light on this matter.
4.3
ETHNOARCHAEOLOGY
No exhaustive research has been done into ethnographic
evidence on burial in relation to violence. Not being an
anthropologist myself, I will restrict myself to interesting
and possibly relevant quotations of Binford (1971, 221).
He notes that "... many [ethnographic] investigators [list] äs
the basic components of the social personality, symbolized
through differential burial treatment: age, sex, relative
social Status within a given social unit, and social affiliation
in terms of multiple membership units within the society
and/or membership in the society itself. Additionally it was
frequently noted that peculiar circumstances surrounding the
death of an individual may be perceived by the remaining
members of a society äs altering, in a substantial manner,
the obligations of the survivors to acknowledge the social
personality of the deceased. Such persons are instead
treated äs "members" of a post-mortem social unit and
afforded mortuary ritual appropriate to such a membership
group. ... Deaths occurring simultaneously äs a result of
epidemics or massacres might be treated corporately, with
mass graves, by virtue of their "unusual" coincidence."
Binford (1971, 220) cites several specific ethnographic
cases but if we restrict ourselves to his ethnographic sample
(p. 228-233), the "cause of death" appears to be expressed
in only 8 out of 40 cases. This is done especially by settled
agriculturists and pastoralists (7 out of 17 cases). It is
reflected not so much in the furnishings of the grave, but in
its location (three cases) and in the handling of the body
Figure 18 Wassenaar-Wetenngpark Fhnt arrow head from ind 10.
Scale 1 Ί.
Figure 19 Vogelenzang. Two arrow heads from an early Hilversum
Culture domestic complex. After Groenman-van Waatennge 1961 a.
Scale 1 1.
and its disposition (two cases each). Sex is never and age
infrequently expressed in body posture in this sample.
However, the representativeness of Binford's sample — and
hence his quantitative interpretations — may be disputed.
From an ethnographic point of view, the way in which
the Wassenaar group was handled after its collective violent
death is not uncommon. The separate location and the
specific burial rules match the data of Binford's sample
very well. The attitudes of Dutch Bronze Age groups
towards such casualties may have been quite similar to
those of recent agriculturalist groups.
5.
Conclusion
5.1
WHAT HAPPENED AT WASSENAAR?
The evidence and discussion above lead to the following
conclusions.
The coastal Older Dune landscape was most probably
intensively used in the Bronze Age. The microregion to the
south of the Rhine estuary will have been attractive because
of its ecological diversity. We furthermore have sound
evidence from the Wassenaar grave for a violent armed
conflict around 3400 BP, 1700 cal. BC. The majority of
the victims of this conflict were males of warrior age, but
children and women were also killed.
Shortly after the onslaught the victims were buried on a
small dune, in the middle of the natural pastures of a wide
beach flat. This location is not likely to have been a
17
L P LOUWE KOOIJMANS - MULTIPLE BURIAL AT WASSENAAR
settlement site, the settlements were most probably situated
on one of the mam dune rows, close to the arable We
assume that this conspicuous location was purposely selected
for this extiaoidmary grave The use of particular bunal rules
and the peisonal attention paid to the dead suggest that they
were buned by captive 01 escaped kmsmen
52
A MORE VIOLENT DUTCH MIDDLE BRONZE AGE
This conclusion gives use to a numbei of questions
In the first place, the Wassenaar giave Stands out äs
unique m thiee respects the collective aspect, the signs of
violence and the combination of the two In these respects it
is Singular for the Dutch Bionze Age, and mdeed for Dutch
piehistory äs a whole and — äs far äs I know — foi the
Bionze Age of the whole of northwest Europe Is this grave
to be regarded äs an entirely unique featuie or does it
lepresent a class of bunal that is rare or has a low chance
of discovery, 01 perhaps both''
The second question is to what extent does this new
evidence altei the traditional view of the Dutch Bronze
Thudly, how are we to specify this type of armed
confhct 01 "war'"7 Information on the diffeient types of
war (and their vaiymg aichaeological visibihty) m
(sub)iecent societies with roughly similai organisations is
mstiuctive in this respect I mtend to discuss this topic in a
separate paper and to extend on tnbal warfare m European
prehistory m that context
Features hke the Wassenaai giave, situated m an open
field without any durable maikeis, have a very low chance
of discovery and hence a pooi archaeological visibihty
Once bone remams have decayed — äs is usually the case
in the Netherlands — such bunal pits are not noticed by
workmen or dragline drivers On the other hand, m spite of
the systematic prospection of diggmg operations and the
intensive archaeological lesearch that has been carned out
ovei the past decades, no comparable bunals have been
found, not even m Westfnsia, where extensive reallotment
opeiations have been piospected, large-scale settlement
excavations have been carried out and many well-preserved
bone remams have been found It may be aigued that the
use of special burial mies at Wassenaai imphes a ceitam
"tiadition", m the sense of a regulär custom Oui
Impression is that the Wassenaai giave does not reflect a
smgular event, but represents a first mdication of an aspect
of Bionze Age society that is pooily reflected in the
archaeological recoid We should at any late examme the
consequences of this hypothesis
Violence of the kmd reflected in the Wassenaai giave is
totally at vanance with the picture of a peaceful agrarian
society that has so fai emerged foi the Dutch Bronze Age
from evidence from settlements, graves and hoards a quite
Utopian, if not naive, view of the past
Most of the evidence from settlements has recently been
collected (Fokkens/Roymans 1991) People lived m small,
undefended agrarian settlements, m three-aisled farms
comprising a hvmg area and a byre The farms vaned m
length, most measurmg between 20 and 30 m, a few havmg
lengths of up to 60 m (Angelsloo Van der Waals/Butler
1974) The settlement structure appears to have varied, too
there weie isolated farms (Elp Waterbolk 1964), small
open clusters (Texel Woltenng 1975), settlements
consisting of one large farm surrounded by outhouses
(Zyderveld Hülst 1991) and concentrations of at least ten,
perhaps even moie, farms arranged in a long row between
aiable and pastureland (Westfnsia, Bovenkarspel IJzeieef
1981) The abundant evidence for cattle stallmg, the
specific site locations and zoological and botamcal evidence
piesent a picture of seif sufficient farmers with a balanced
true mixed-farming subsistence strategy, with the emphasis
on cattle, wheat and barley The settlements were situated
between arable and natural pastureland and mobihty seems
to have been restncted to small-scale transhumance, äs for
mstance m the case of the initial colomzation of Westfnsia
There is no reason to assume the exchange of staple crops
between neighbouring commumties on any scale In view of
the evidence foi a violent conflict we may now speculate
about the lole of horses, represented for the first time in
very low frequencies m the bone spectra found at the sites
of these commumties
No evidence for site hierarchy has so far been obtamed
and it is unhkely that any will emerge in the future The
inteisite, diffeientiation appears to reflect regional Variation
rather than hierarchy Inti asite differentiation is mainly
expressed in the lengths of the farms, in particular in the
large number of farm plans in Westfnsia, whose lengths
ranged from 15 to 30 m Such differences m lengths imply
great differences — of up to a factor of three — in the
number of cattle kept, that is, if we assume a hvmg area of
Standard dimensions, and hence a differentiation in wealth,
possibly implymg a hierarchical society There is no
settlement evidence for a household of a person with some
central function 01 power The settlement evidence therefore
indicates a tribal society rather than a chiefdom
Social differentiation is apparent m grave goods on a
very modest scale, äs already mentioned above The wamor
graves of the Eaily and Middle Bronze Age can be counted
on the fingers of one hand, whereas hundreds of barrows,
most contammg several bunals, have been excavated
The greatest differences are m the bunal monuments
themselves the labour mvested m the construction or
extension of the barrow and in the circles of postholes
surroundmg them
18
ANALECTA PRAEHISTORICA LEIDENSIA 26
The number of hoards that have found in the Netherlands
is also very small Hoards of weapons contammg swords
and/or spearheads, such äs that of Overloon (Butler 1959),
are remarkably rare The archaeological reflection of Early
and Middle Bronze Age society hence lacks d:stmct social
hierarchy and shows hardly any signs of martiality Nobody
has ever senously questioned whether this is a true,
representative reflection of that society The apparent
poverty of the Dutch Bronze Age was mitially attnbuted to
the scarcity of bronze, which had to be imported over long
distances However, the evidence for a flouiishmg agranan
society that has smce then been obtamed in large scale
settlement research has made this argument untenable
All that can be said now is that the Bronze Age mhabitants
of the Netherlands were already quite economically mmded
and did not "waste" their bronze m bunal customs At the
same time they obscured their social differentiation and
Organisation for later archaeologists On the face of it,
however, we do not have the Impression that the social
Organisation of the Bronze Age was any more sophisticated
than that of, for mstance, the evolved Limburg Bandkeramik It is best to see it äs a ranked Organisation of a
tnbal Community than äs a stratified chiefdom
The peaceful, rather idyllic picture of the Dutch Bionze
Age has now been severely disrupted by the Wassenaai
evidence Apparently violent confhcts took place, m which
not only males, but also females and children were killed,
although the Wassenaar sex ratio does suggest that women
were spared to a certain extent, they may have been
abducted rather than killed
I wondered whether the shock that this new evidence has
caused among archaeologists is possibly attnbutable to
naivety and whether, m spite of the lack of evidence, armed
conflicts m fact formed a normal part of the social hfe of
sooeties hke the Bionze Age one descnbed above With
this hypothesis in mmd I started a geneial survey of
multiple bunals with mdications of violence fiom the
Central and Western European pre-urnfield penod I found
a small, but widely spiead, amount of evidence from
Bandkeramik times onwards A suivey of ethnographic and
anthropological souices showed that, first of all, violent
confhct is the rule rather than the exception in all societies
Secondly, in many tnbal societies warfaie is endermc, either
äs mids or in a more ntuahsed foim, and, thndly, these
tnbal types of warfare do generally not leave conspicuous
archaeological traces they do not mvolve defensive
structuies, speciahsed weapons and aimour, large-scale
destruction, speciahsed wainoi groups, etc In view of these
observations it seems peimissable to use the httle Neohthic
evidence available and the even smaller amount of Early
and Middle Bionze Age evidence to assume that armed
conflicts 01 tnbal warfare were endermc throughout the
Neohthic and the Bronze Age This foim of warfaie was the
logical basis for the more visible forms of waifare of the
moie complex societies of later prehistory I plan to discuss
the results of this study m a separate paper in the neai
future
Acknowledgements
I would hke to thank Enk Jungerius for his assistance in
the field, Liesbeth Smits for her physical-anthropological
study and Pietei van de Velde foi his critical reading of my
aiticle and the discussions we had
notes
l Prelimmaiy lepoits Jungerius 1988, Jungenus/Smits 1988,
Louwe Kooijmans 1990
19
L P LOUWE KOOIJMANS - MULTIPLE BURIAL AT WASSENAAR
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L P Louwe Kooijmans
Instttuut voor Prehistone
P O Box 9515
NL 2300 RA Leiden